PREP BOYS BASKETBALL

Relying on defense, anxious Eagles finally relax

Pueblo East High School's Alex Jara, left, shoots and scores past the outstretched arm of Montbello High School defender Malik Hart during first half action Thursday night December 19, 2013 in the East gym in Pueblo, Colo. (Bryan Kelsen, The Pueblo Chieftain)

BY JOE E. CERVI
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

Published: December 19, 2013;Last modified: December 20, 2013 09:25AM

Playing tentatively wasn’t working for Dylan Gavin and the East High School boys basketball team Thursday night.

Early on against Montbello, the storied Class 5A program from the Denver Prep League, Gavin and the Eagles couldn’t find their game.

They weren’t being dominated as much as they were being intimidated. They were hesitant on both ends of the floor and it showed on the scoreboard.

“We were hyped up and probably too cautious,” said Gavin, who is 6-foot-4 on a good hair day. “This was our first home game and we wanted to put on a good show. Once we settled down and started playing our game, things got better for us.”

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The Eagles’ game — attacking, pressing, using pressure defense and getting the ball into the hands of Gavin — worked to perfection in the second half as they knocked off the Warriors 49-42 at Mel Spence Gym.

The game was just one of three in the first round of the 14th annual East Coaches Classic.

East (7-2) trailed 16-15 — at the half! — but used smothering defense to pull ahead in the third. Oh, yeah. Gavin got hot, too.

Rather than back into the Warriors big post players Karamoko Cisse and Troy Green, Gavin pulled them out. He hit three 3-pointers in the second half and made all three free throws after getting fouled on a 3-pointer. He finished with 26 points, more than half his team’s total.

“He’s a tough matchup,” Eagles coach Dave Ryder said. “It was good that Dylan and Jimmy (Valdez) had to go against those big guys inside. But Dylan’s so good from the outside that he made them pay when they didn’t guard him out there.”

The Eagles’ win capped a three-game card at Mel Spence. South beat up on Falcon in the opener, then Pueblo County fell to Horizon in the second game.

All three Pueblo teams will play the three visitors, with three more games today and three more Saturday.

South 65, Falcon 44: This one was over early — or at least by halftime. The Colts (4-2) played man-to-man defense for 32 minutes and the Falcons (6-1) had no answer.

“We’re putting a lot of emphasis on defense and the kids are learning that it’s hard to play with that kind of intensity for an entire game,” Colts coach DJ Johnson said. “They’re working to get it and they see a lot of easy baskets at the other end of the floor because of it, so they are starting to buy in.”

South held Falcon to eight points in the first quarter and six in the second.

“The kids knew Falcon was undefeated but I didn’t,” Johnson said. “It’s nice to beat a quality team like that.”

Jared Baros led South with 14 points. Maleek Johnson added 13 and Brian Pratt had 12.

Horizon 62, Pueblo County 53: Trying to take baby steps at the varsity level has been a slow process for the Hornets.

But they are getting closer.

Horizon hit 14 of 17 free throws in the fourth quarter alone to pull away. The loss, in an extremely physical game, was another painful step in the process, head coach James Vigil said.

“Their effort was there; this is the best they’ve given me this year,” Vigil said about the Hornets (0-8). “I have nine guys out there playing varsity for the first time in their careers and they’re still getting used to the speed of the game.

“All I ask is that they scrap and play hard and they are doing that every time out.”

Sam Taravella led the Hornets with 19 points, hitting three 3-pointers.